Photo: Nicola Dove, Courtesy of Apple TV+

For veteran local actor Moses Goods, playing a key role in the series Chief of War represents a rare opportunity to “see Hawaiians on-screen in a piece written and created by Hawaiians.” The nine-episode miniseries starring Jason Momoa makes its global debut in August on Apple TV+ amid high expectations, but also some controversy.

“I think it’s a show that’s going to be well received, successful and very entertaining,” says Goods, a Hawaiian storyteller for more than two decades.

“A story rooted in my home, my culture, and my heart. Hawaiian history has never been told like this.”

Chief of War is set after the arrival of Westerners to Hawai‘i in 1778. It depicts a Hawaiian chief trying to bring together the warring islands to prevent colonization. Although the story is fictional, “it’s based in history, and is still engaging and entertaining,” says Goods, pictured above as Chief Ke‘eaumoku Pāpa‘iahiahi (called “Moku” in the show).

On Instagram, series co-writer and executive producer Momoa, who is Native Hawaiian, describes Chief of War as “a story rooted in my home, my culture, and my heart. Hawaiian history has never been told like this.” The superstar was born on O‘ahu, raised in Iowa and began his acting career while studying marine biology at UH Mānoa.

Photo: Nicola Dove, Courtesy of Apple TV+

Shooting for the big-budget series began in 2022. The cast and crew spent a month on Hawai‘i Island, but then shot most of the production in New Zealand, rankling many in the Hawai‘i film industry. “It’s just tragic that with this story, about Hawai‘i and from Hawai‘i, they loved it, wrote it, developed it, then took all that value—the monetary and cultural value—and produced it in New Zealand, where it’s much cheaper to make this film,” says Tuia‘ana Scanlan, president of IATSE Local 665, the union that represents local production crews.

While the series celebrates Hawai‘i, “it is also a treatise on how the continued extraction of values of these lands is perpetuated today even by some of the most well-meaning people,” Scanlan says.

The decision not to shoot the series exclusively in Hawai‘i delivered an economic blow to the Islands’ already slumping film and television industry. In mid-May, the Fox TV drama Rescue: HI-Surf, about lifeguards on O‘ahu’s North Shore, was canceled after one season, meaning that, for the first time in more than 20 years, no TV shows are being shot in Hawai‘i.

Goods remains hopeful that Chief of War will be renewed, with future episodes shot in the Islands, for historic and cultural reasons and to boost our local economy. And, on a lighter note, he says he’d rather avoid another New Zealand winter, which challenged him to act like he’s in sunny Hawai‘i while striving not to shiver in a malo. “I’m proud of myself for pulling that off.”

tv.apple.com, @appletv

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Robbie Dingeman is the former editor at large of HONOLULU Magazine and now a contributor.